No safety hooks for gooseneck

[HeavyHauler]

Originally posted by midwestdually

i guess heavy hauler can just screw the d-rings to his bed and that will be good enough for him but then again that is work and he wont do that.





sorry... i will leave it alone now

Man what is your problem? You know if you would just shutup, you would save yourself a lot of embarrassment. I hope they take this thread off the boards first thing in the morning - it's people like you that make it so irritating to post on these boards. I'm sorry that you're so paranoid about safety - have a traumatizing experience as a child or something?

 

[HeavyHauler]

Well it looks like that one got removed pretty quick - have an attack of conscience midwestdually?

 

[ndurbin]

heavy hauler my buddy has a similar setup as yours. his is a piece of 1/2" metal w/ a 3" channel iron runnin across the plate on each side of the ball. nuts tacked on and we just screw the ball in. I don't really care for the setup, the nut has a habit of backing off. I'd suggest ya weld the nut solidly onto the plate. My truck has the ball built into the flatbed with a pretty hefty peice of channel iron (never measured it). nut's welded solid and i've never had a lick of problems.





I've never pulled a trailer that was equipped w/ safety chains, dont know if they would really do much good unless you were empty. if the ball does go it's gunna tear the heck outta your bed regardless of safety chains or not IMO.



If I where to install some (I doubt it but ya never know) I'd probably use the single eye bolt method with the heaviest chain I could get my hands on.

 

[midwestdually]

look dude... anytime you are pulling anything safety should always be top priority ... and i did answer your question about the safety chain hooks and regardless whether the law says it has to be on there or not should not mean that you dont put them on. why on a bumper pull hitch are there hooks for safety chains?? gee... i dont know!!! moron.



good luck when you pull a trailer down the road and the trailer comes off the ball cuz the coupler is too worn out and then you dont have chains so it then rips your tailgate off and either slides off the road and kills a kid standing at the school bus stop waiting for the bus or just slides off the road destroying half of your truck and the trailer and whatever you are carrying.



sorry man but SAFETY is #1 anywhere and anytime. the only reason that i might be flaming you is for this reason ... your lack of reasoning to understand the consequences of 1) not taking the time to check to see if there is even a plate for the ball 2) for not wanting to defame your precious 40k truck like you thin you have, all in the name of cutting corners.



people like you make me sick. i will not respond to another post of yours ever again and try to help a guy out. i will look at a post of yours and only think to myself "i wonder when this guy is going to kill someone for being careless"





good day sir

 

[HeavyHauler]

Originally posted by midwestdually

look dude... anytime you are pulling anything safety should always be top priority ... and i did answer your question about the safety chain hooks and regardless whether the law says it has to be on there or not should not mean that you dont put them on. why on a bumper pull hitch are there hooks for safety chains?? gee... i dont know!!! moron.



Actually the reason for this is because they are required by law, moron.



good luck when you pull a trailer down the road and the trailer comes off the ball cuz the coupler is too worn out and then you dont have chains so it then rips your tailgate off and either slides off the road and kills a kid standing at the school bus stop waiting for the bus or just slides off the road destroying half of your truck and the trailer and whatever you are carrying.



people like you make me sick. i will not respond to another post of yours ever again and try to help a guy out. i will look at a post of yours and only think to myself "i wonder when this guy is going to kill someone for being careless"





LOL, man you have a very imaginative way of thinking.

 

[Mike Ellis]

Heavy Hauler,



My '97 has a turn-over ball gooseneck plate in the bed, it is a big honkin' plate of steel but no, repeat NO, safety chain attachments. I looked at a lot of used trucks with hitches when I bought mine, and I only saw one or two with hitches that had the pop-up u-bolts for safety chains. QTRHRS's approach seems like the best solution. Most of the older gooseneck trailers around here seem to have breakaway cables instead of chains.



Just for example, below is the Texas Transportation code that covers safety chains. If you are pulling an agricultural trailer or operating under Federal motor carrier safety rules, safety chains are not required - not sure why, guess "safe" has different meanings depending on who is paying the $$$. In the past, there were no safety-chain requirements for gooseneck trailers, that is why in our area you see so many older trucks with no safety-chain hooks on the hitch, and lots of trailers with no hooks on the neck.



One of the state reps, Brimer I think, had put out a bill to amend the code so goosenecks were exempted but I don't know whether it passed. One of the big problems where "safety" is concerned, is that what is considered "safe" today may become illegal tomorrow. The Texas code is amended all the time, for instance when I bought my truck in 2000, you didn't have to wear a seatbelt in a 1-ton. They changed the code without much discussion, and all of a sudden you are illegal if you don't wear one. Nasty surprise for the folks who got a ticket after the law change, "ignorance of the law is no excuse" but then again most of us are not full-time lawyers studying the thousands of bills that get spurted out of the Legislature every session. If you read the transportation code in Texas closely, there are a heck of a lot of ways to run afoul of the law nowadays - Tennessee is probably the same way.



**************************

§ 545. 410. Towing Safety Chains



(a) An operator of a passenger car or light truck may not draw a trailer, semitrailer, house trailer, or another motor vehicle unless safety chains of a type approved by the department are attached in a manner approved by the department from the trailer, semitrailer, house trailer, or drawn motor vehicle to the drawing vehicle. This subsection does not apply to the drawing of a trailer or semitrailer used for agricultural purposes.



(b) The department shall adopt rules prescribing the type of safety chains required to be used according to the weight of the trailer, semitrailer, house trailer, or motor vehicle being drawn. The rules shall:



(1) require safety chains to be strong enough to maintain the connection between the trailer, semitrailer, house trailer, or drawn motor vehicle and the drawing vehicle; and



(2) show the proper method to attach safety chains between the trailer, semitrailer, house trailer, or drawn motor vehicle and the drawing vehicle.



(c) Subsection (b) does not apply to trailers, semitrailers, or house trailers that are equipped with safety chains installed by the original manufacturer before the effective date of the rules.



(d) This section does not apply to a trailer, semitrailer, house trailer, or drawn motor vehicle that is operated in compliance with the federal motor carrier safety regulations.



(e) In this section, "safety chains" means flexible tension members connected from the front of a drawn vehicle to the rear of the drawing vehicle to maintain connection between the vehicles if the primary connecting system fails.



Acts 1995, 74th Leg. , ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg. , ch. 165, § 30. 113(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1997.



Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg. , ch. 1357, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

 

[y-knot]

I have a B&W turnover ball gooseneck hitch, when I installed it, I made sure the pull-up chain connectors were also installed. I have always used safety chains. I had a trailer come loose once and know the damage that can occure. This happened when I was stopped, someone pulled the pin on my reciever hitch. They probally thought the trialer would just fall when I pulled out, but it didn't. It stayed hooked till I was on the intersate, and then came off. Very, Very scarry, I would not want anyone else to have that happen to them.

Getting back to your question, When I went to pick-up our new gooseneck, it to had no safty chains. I was supprised. But I did add them as soon as we got home, just seems like a common sence thing?

 

[JPope]

Safety Hooks

Over the past 20 years hauling goosenecks, I have seen PU GN mounts come with provisons for safety hooks and without. Had a fold down type GN w/o provisions for safety hooks, in fact the installer (large Illinois trailer dealer recommended against safety hooks for GN and had his reasons/stories to back it up). Never felt comfortable w/o so the latest GN setup has provisions for safety hooks and use them, if nothing else to avoid inquiring ? from law enforcement if they notice or something untoward happens!!!



Had an unloaded 2H bumper pull come loose on a rough, frost heaved road at night/heavy rain (less than 5MPH!!!) and it straightened out the safety hooks (1/2" dia. bent S type) on the chains and the trailer stayed behind until I noticed (25 ' down the road). After this I changed the safety hooks to a forged type rather than the bent S type, on both trailers (bumper pull & GN) just for my piece of mind.



Don't think I would ever want a GN or bumper pull, loaded or unloaded to come loose and have to depend on the safety chains.

Wonder what happens if the brake-away brakes engage and the tow truck proceeds, if any type of safety chain would hold, especially with highway speeds? Lots of room for theory and discussion, but if nothing else staying with the legal requirements MINIMIZES problems with liability and insurance etc.

 

[knewman]

HEAVY HAULER I got to say you had it coming yesterday I wanted to unload on you about the guy wanting advice about tying down his tractor but figured why start something but the thought that came to my mind was i hope you don't use these ways of tying down something now here you are asking for it again today you probably are a great guy and just put out there to say one thing but is taken another we hope

 

[ndurbin]

Well this is just my experience - last summer I hauled a '48 Ford about 30 miles on some pretty sharp curves and hills and all we did was lock the brakes, had it in gear, and threw a chain (with comealong) over the middle. No problems, didn't move an inch. Although, the tractor was about as big as my riding mower, LOL. Not mine, my uncles! You should be fine with a chain or two.

runnin the chain over the middle on something the size of a lawn mower isn't stupid. I've seen lots of people do it that way and done it that way a time or two myself. placing 4 tie down straps on a lawn mower is overkill. you all can be as worried about safety as you want to. if you maintain proper maintence of your equipment (ie. coupler, ball, and brakes) you reduce the margin of error even more. also not overloading the trailer, ball, or coupler helps. sure there are freak accidents, but accidents are called that for a reason. I am guilty from time to time of not doing everything the right way or the safest way but that doesn't mean I do it everytime or anybody else does it everytime. If ya want to be a perfectionist thats fine go right ahead but don't bring the house down on somebody that isn't for just asking for advice. I've re-read the posts several times. they aren't that confusing to me. whats confusing to me is why people need to go off at full cock before they understand the whole picture. and why did they even bother about the hitch? he's asking advice for safety chains is he not?

 

[Peter Campbell]

I think the safety chains are more of a "Oh Shoot" preventer. A weak ball or coupler that is stressed by a collision or other radical manuver and fails- Safety chains MAY keep the pieces together- probably not. Hit a speed bump at low speed with the coupler not latched- "Oh Shoot" Safety chains keep the pieces close. So will the bed of the truck. The added benefit is that it is unlikely the gooseneck will go through the tailgate. The natural reaction is to slam on the brakes. This puts the gooseneck right into the front bed wall/cab. This maintains safety for the other people on the road. The trailer will not go far dragging the wreckage of the truck. It will slow down significantly. Public safety is assured. The problems of the tow vehicle driver are not the concern of the law writers. You are your own warranty station when it comes to protecting yourself. The safety laws are for the people to the side, front, and rear of you.

 

[Jeff Clark]

HeavyHauler, look for a fold down gooseneck hitch with the saftey chain hooks. I had one where the hooks for the safety chain were spring loaded and tucked away when not in use. With the hooks down and the ball folded away, you could throw a bed mat over it and hardly tell it was there.

 

[EB]

Something Mike Ellis quoted in the Texas regs. , section d. , as pertains to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regs. What it didn't say was if you have a brake-away system on your trailer, you don't need to use safety chains. I was coming back from Louisiana today and was stopped in Beaumont, Tx for a roadside DOT inspection. I passed it with no problems and my safety chains were hanging on my trailer neck. As long as your brake-away system is working and you are running under DOT rules there is no problems. Look at your big trucks, no safety chains but they all have brake-away systems. They have air brakes, I have electric brakes, but they all will stop the trailer if it comes unhooked. I do drive hotshot and drive under the DOT rules and regs. Maybe if you aren't commercial and run under DOT rules you do have to use chains, I don't know. I can tell you from past experience, that if your brake-away system isn't working, and you are cked, the fine is $202. 00 plus court cost. Make sure your battery is good.

 

[knewman]

your right the original post was about safety chains i just though heavy hauler got some of his own medicine by not knowing all the specs on his own truck

yesterday I thought it was not good advice to tell a person how to tie down a lawn mower when he wanted advice on his tractor and may or may not know the difference

as i said having done this 16 yrs and over 1. 5 million miles with out a chargeable accident dosen't make me perfect but have always liked helping new drivers learn the right way to do a job that has to be done but few want to do for very long

 

[QRTRHRS]

Safety chains, like seat belts provoke a bit of emotion apparently. We can all recite instances where either has made a difference one way or the other. I personnally have seen both cases as many of you probably have. Seat belts, IMHO, should be a personnal choice except for kids. Chains? I choose to use them. I use them so if I screw up or my rig screws up, I don't kill someone. If those chains should break and the trailer hurts me well so be it. I can either live with that or die but I maybe won't hurt someone else.



Comparing big rig attributes to most of our applications is not apples to oranges either. I suspect you could find few instances of a truck's fifth wheel failing under normal conditions if properly adjusted and latched. Brakes? Except for around pre 75' applications, most truck drive axles and trailer axles have spring brakes. The diaframs collapse with a loss of air allowing the springs to lock up properly adjusted brakes. Trust me, this will jerk a knot in your rearend. Will your electric brakes do as well?



PS, please read https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=79309

 

[y-knot]

I have to agree with the last poster, I would not want to live with the burden of knowing I might have hurt someone else thru my own stupidity. The question was how to tie down a tractor? In my opinion, tractors,bobcats,lifts,backhoes and all simular heavy equipment should be lashed down with chains. And they need to be the one approved for transport. I have seen way to many times someone hauling a piece of equipment with a single chain, or strap. Straps work well when used for what they were designed for. They do work well at securing atvs, motorcycles,lawn equipment,and I don't have a problem with them securing a car or truck, especially if in a enclosed trailer. They make many styles of straps for a variety of uses, and if properly chosen, they do work well. The problem with equipment and machinery, is it usually has a much high center of gravity, and it's weight is concentrated and usually very high. I have always been inclined to "over chain" something, I would rather take the extra time need, then have something or someone get hurt. On your tractor, I would use a minimum of three chains. One would be pulling it down and to the front. One would be pulling it down and two the rear. And there would be at least one more located in the center, pulling it down. Also, I have found the after closing the chain binders, If you take a heavy tie-wrap, you can secure the handle to the chain, this way they will not come open.

 

[knewman]

that was my point but maybe didn't get it across the right way wasn't trying to start any thing but wanted guys to realize that if someone gets hurt you would have to sleep with it rest of your life

side note when i drove a truck my handle was Knot when i saw your user name brought back some of the past

 

[MLee]

saftey chains

Boy is this a heated conversation. just be on the safe side, and use a safety chain.

there are manufacture out there that have built in provisions for this attachment. The Colbert hitch has eyes in the in-bed ball collar or flange for the chains to attach, so no "D"rings or other types of attachments need to be installed. some states DO require chains, so if you are going to other states just be knowledgeable of their laws.

Good luck.

just my penny's worth.

Marv.



(no attachment to the above named manufacture)

just a good piece of equipment

 

[Mike Ellis]

I remember the old George Carlin comedy bit, where he pointed out that anyone who drives SLOWER than you do is a moron, but anyone who drives FASTER is a maniac. Most of us seem to have that sort of viewpoint, at least that comedy routine really slayed that audience at the time.



We seem to have the same viewpoint on our personal safety practices too. People who take MORE precautions than we do are overprotective sissies, but people who take LESS precaution are stoneblind fools who put everybody around them at risk.



Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed,

poor reckless fool had no chains upon his sled,

drove around town without a safety belt,

and rode horseback with a hat made out o' felt

Reckless, that is

Insurance liability

Hunt him down like a dawg!

THE NINETEEN FIFTIES!!

(cue banjo music)

 

[Tim1]

too much heat

Peeked over here to see some towing advice, but way to heated here. You fellas need to chill. You can flame me over in the first gen section. Tim:-{} :-{} :-{} :-{} :-{} :-{} :-{} :-{} :-{}